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Marco Rubio Fiscal Conservative?
Florida Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio whose campaign mantra blasts excesses of government spending charged grocery bills, car repairs and other personal expenses to a GOP issued credit card during his tenure as speaker of the Florida State House.
According the Miami Herald and The St. Petersburg Times charges covered by the party as political expenses include:
$765 at Apple's online store for computer supplies.
$25.76 from Everglades Lumber for supplies.
$53.49 at Winn-Dixie in Miami for food.
$68.33 at Happy Wine in Miami for beverages.
$78.10 for two purchases at Farm Stores groceries in suburban Miami.
$412 at All Fusion Electronics, a music equipment store.
$1,000 charge at Braman Honda in Miami for repairs to the family car.
$2,976 for Rubio to rent a car in Miami for five weeks.
$1,024 in three payments to a Tallahassee property management group.
Six plane tickets for his wife.
$4,100 in restaurant tabs during the 2007 and 2008 sessions.
$7,000 for Rubio's flights between Tallahassee and Miami during the 2007
and 2008 sessions.
$133.75 to an upscale barber shop in downtown Miami called Churchills.
When Rubio became speaker, he also spent $400,000 in tax dollars to remodel offices and build a members only dining room.
Rubio was among at least a half-dozen high-ranking Florida lawmakers given GOP credit cards allowing them to spend donations to the party outside public view.
State Records show in 2008 the GOP paid $1.8 million in American Express charges. More than $100,000 was spent on Rubio's card from November 2006 to November 2008.
To adhere to IRS rules party credit cards should only cover expenses aimed at influencing elections, fundraising, voter registration and candidate recruitment.
Rubio denies any wrongdoing. He is furious and blames former party chair Jim Greer and Governor Charlie Christ for leaking the records to the newspapers.
Why hasn't the RPOF released the statements of everyone that held an American Express Card? Why only Marco Rubio's statements?
What do FLORIDA TODAY readers think of Rubio's use of the Party credit card?
John J. Glisch
Vanessa Baden
Jamesha Cox
Ted Hartselle 
Vicki Impoco
Brittany Johnson
Mike Jordan
Lynne Grace
James Marshall
Fernando Rendon
Lisa Rivero
Paige Studer
Tyler Winik 
Brian Wilkins
Susan Zwieg
38 Comments:
If it weren't for the gigantic sacrifices in morality and civic duty, I would totally up for the Republican Party to get me one of those snazzy American Express Black cards with no spending limits.
I imagine it would be very difficult, strictly from a personal ethics perspective, to vote to raise taxes on working-class Floridians to the tune of $2,280,000,000.00 while spending like a crazed Bridezilla on a cocaine binger.
I had wondered how precisely Rubio was planning on running with a Tea Party slant after voting to raise taxes with every other Tallahassee Republican, but this somewhat demonstrates a double-down of the hypocrisy that was already piled up to neck-level before.
Vicki:
Do you audit the expenses of all politicians, if not, you need to get a life.
As a proud Tea Party member, I would like to finally acknowledge that our movement is taking hits and the future looks gloomy. That being said, Marco Rubio has shown his true colors and has completely lost my vote and I will make sure my brothers and sisters comprehend what has been shown to us today.
How proud are you if you hide behind Anonymous?
he is only mad at others for making it public, not mad at his actions that were wrong. waste of money to donate to political parties. they are already living large on our expense, dont need any more.
The same Rubio that took special interest money while a county commisioner?
The same Rubio that accepts $$ from State Farm while Crist fights their price gouging of Floridians?
The same Rubio that funnelled huge $$ to FIU, and then accepted a uncontested, unadvertised $69,000 job from the university?
The same Rubio who used the GOP credit card at a Wine store while Crist didn't accept the GOPs credit card?
The same Rubio that charged the GOP $7000 on airfare back home to Miami, yet often never took the flights, yet still personally collected the refunds and/or frequent flier miles?
The same Rubio that would say ANYTHING to get elected?
Please people: DO NOT elect this special interest scum bag.
The Crist campaign is being assisted by our local hippy peace movement, ACORN and communist supporters. Impoco is just stiring the pot because she hates the conservative principles that Rubio champions. RUBIO 2010!!!!!
But Gov. Crist IS a fiscal conservative, right?
...and by champions, I mean completely ignores when he's in office and only dusts off when he's running for another one.
It's funny that a teabagger interprets a list of facts is 'stirring the pot'... If they weren't true, they wouldn't make much of a spoon.
Please stop the noise. Rubio is your next governor, he's a conservative, and it really gets under the skin of FT. Oh, and for you losers who refer to concerned American citizens expressing their rights under the Constitution as "teabaggers" - you will all be teabagged in November
Why is Vicki, a Democrat, defining what a conservative is?
Why not have Charles Steen, a Republican, make the assessment?
The actual expenses enumerated are reasonable. The Democrats are desperate.
Marco is going to kick butt in Novermber. Yes!!!
5:59 - Wasn't the terrorist that crashed his plane into an IRS office a conservative teabagger? What act of treason comes next wing nuts?
The actual expenses enumerated are reasonable?
The rest of Florida is losing their homes and struggling to find a job and you people think his $100K+ expenses are reasonable?
This guy is thumbing his nose at every hard working Floridian as he shouts the equivalent of "let them eat cake"...
You'd be a moron to vote for this guy. He has the family values of the Manson Family.
"State Records show in 2008 the GOP paid $1.8 million in American Express charges. More than $100,000 was spent on Rubio's card from November 2006 to November 2008."
Actually, using a card that must be paid monthly in full is a good sound accounting principle...it serves as a record of expenses and sometimes these come even categorized as to what type of expense whether travel and gasoline or out of state lodging, food consumption and other expenses...it is an accepted accounting principle to register expenses...It is checking accounts and cash that sometimes is harder to trace.
No problem here! Auditors will be welcome in all governmental organizations/officials! VOTE!
Wondering if anyone would catch on that these lefty's were the ones defining Rubio's political philosophy. He scares the hell out of them for good reason, he'll obliterate their Democratic candidate! Greypawn, best concentrate on your own bid for the Florida House. Now go play nicely with your little prog-lib friends!
Anyone ever meet Mr. GreyPawn? I'd hate to see his grocery expenses! It would take a jeep and a full tank of gas just to drive around him once!
"Rubio denies any wrongdoing. He is furious and blames former party chair Jim Greer and Governor Charlie Christ for leaking the records to the newspapers."
Nice spell checking FT.
Crist is a POTHO.
Run Rubio Run!
The difference between my grocery bill and Mr. Rubio's primarily being that I pay mine.
Don't forget that Rubio spent an enormous amount redecorating his state senate office. i believe he also was a great supporter of Samson and did nothing to stop him from putting a huge amount in the budget for that college in the panhandle while all the other colleges were being cut. Some fiscal conservative!!
It's been said here already, but it really sums it up: Are you going to audit ALL politicians, or just those of the other parties? When can we expect these sorts of reports for the democratic canidates? I'm guessing even if you did, the data would be cherry picked to bits. You've given ZERO points of reference, for all we know he's the MOST conservative fiscally....
Greypawn, you can criticize, but I imagine when folks see your opinions on the FT forums you will not have a snowballs chance in hades of getting elected (if you are still planning on running for office).
So now the Austin crazy plane crash guy is being linked to the tea party ? you should stop getting your talking points from MSNBC, it's got no teeth. He's closer to a left wing nut job anyway. Just like that loony teacher in Alabama who shot her co-workers. She was a big Obama fan, but I don't hear you spouting any opinions on her.
Rubio was to Florida what Dick Cheney was to the country.
A polarized, controlling, vindictive, bully and special interest sweetheart. He reigned with an iron fist as speaker.
He should never be elected to another office, much less one so important to our state.
Awe now, he's a republican. Their rules don't apply to them, just to the other folks...
Judging from some of the posts here, it seems we are still caught in the grasp of people who could care less about the suffering of their fellow Floridians.
Those who let others form their political opinions for them without critically examining those opinions suffer from either a lack of education/understanding or simply want to use the artificial divisions drummed up those who want power/money to rake in their own power/money at the expense of those least able to afford it.
Ironically, many see social Darwinism as accepted fact while disowning Darwin's thesis on biological evolution. Weird.
Why didn't Rubio just use his own credit cards for personal expenses?
Former GOP state party chairman Tom Slade said yesterday he wasn't particularly bothered by Rubio's card use because he had raised about $12 million for the party.....
The impetus for the Tea Party movement is excessive government spending and taxation.
Florida Tea Party members please note:
Republicans outnumber Democrats 26-14 in the Florida Senate.
They outnumber Democrats 77-42 in the Florida House.
They outnumber Democrats 3-1 on the Florida Cabinet.
There are about two Republican politicians for every Democratic politician in Tallahassee and Washington.
CONSERVATIVES 10 EASY STEPS TO FASCISM:
1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy (terrorist everywhere)
2. Create a gulag (Guantánamo)
3. Develop a thug caste (security contractors such as Blackwater torturing prisoners, harassing journalists and firing on Iraqi civilians)
4. Set up an internal surveillance system (secret state program to wiretap citizens' phones)
5. Harass citizens' groups (anti-war, environmental and other groups have been infiltrated by govt agents at the behest of huge corporations)
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release (NO FLY List - you are probably on one)
7. Target key individuals (Cheney put pressure on regents at state universities to penalise or fire academics who have been critical of Bush administration)
8. Control the press (Bush's secret white house directed a stream of false information)
9. Dissent equals treason
10. Suspend the rule of law (Patriot Act)
Conservative Republicans = Fascism
The Republicans all think that the taxpayers' pay for their credit cards. Then they lie loudly saying lower taxes, smaller government, terror, terror, terror. They operate under the assumption that he who yells loudest wins. They just do it with a flag pin on their lapel. Liars all!
Credit cards are a good accounting mechanism! For Mr. Rubio it was $50,000 a year in expenses this is much much less than the cost of flying a jet airplane from DC to California every week! for the duration of Pelosis' years of service...while we need a while village to pay taxes for that one alone! But it depends on who is counting: the Reds or the Blues!
Islaobamac is not a nice place to raise an American family. Children will get in trouble all the time at school because they cannot memorize more than one sentence. Eating from a ration booklet will be a problem because adults will forget where they put it. Women will have to cover their heads because all the hair products to die it with will not be available and cover their faces because there will be no makeup either. Other toilet-ries will be missing as well...We will meet with the Cubans in the Golf of Mexico on our home made rafts!
10:29 doesn't like America very much, wow...blame America first, the typical liberal line
kinda sounded like turban durban from back in the day
Marco Rubio is a Jeb Bush HACK and is unworthy to be a dog catcher let alone us senator.I love he used you idiots charge card for questionable gifts.Imagine if he met the same fate as Tiger Woods.
Its funny to see all the libs on here. Rubio could put a free abortion clinic on every street corner and these fools will still vote Democrat. They'll vote against him no matter what, credit card or no credit card. And they pretend to be objective.
Alot of anti-hispanic bigots on here it looks like
Rubio admitted Friday that $3,000 in airfare charged was a "mistake" and that he would pay the party back. He still claims the $14,000 in other expenses such as $133 hair cuts and pricey trips to the convenience store are legit.....
Vote in another democrat like Lawton Chiles.
He was a great governor.
Kick all the republicans out, out of the state legislature, out of Florida!!
this great country has to get away from this "party: one sided bickering and work on fixing the country
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